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I dual booted my Windows 10 system with Ubuntu 20.04 a few months ago. I had been locked out of Windows 10 due to some Bitlocker Recovery Key issue back then, but I had ignored it at that time, because I just wanted to use Ubuntu, and so has been the case till now. I have been using Ubuntu since then. However, now, the Ubuntu partition is almost full, and I want to either expand/resize it, or remove both completely. I don't use Windows anyways, so I wouldn't mind if it gets wiped out and only Ubuntu remains on my system. Infact, I would like that.

Therefore, I have three options (with the fact that I can't use Windows):

  1. Expand the Ubuntu partition from within Ubuntu,
  2. Completely remove Windows and make Ubuntu as the sole OS
  3. Remove both the OSes and replace them with a new Linux distro, say, Arch

Is it possible to do any of the above from within Ubuntu?

I am a newb in these areas, and all the articles and how-tos on this topic are for when I am inside Windows. Since that is not the case, help would be really appreciated.

ADDITIONAL INFO: I currently have a bootable USB drive with the Arch Linux's ISO image file on it.

EDIT: The output of lsblk is:

NAME   MAJ:MIN RM   SIZE RO TYPE MOUNTPOINT
loop0    7:0    0 135.8M  1 loop /snap/chromium/1461
loop1    7:1    0 135.7M  1 loop /snap/chromium/1466
loop2    7:2    0 146.6M  1 loop /snap/code/51
loop3    7:3    0 143.8M  1 loop /snap/code/52
loop4    7:4    0  97.9M  1 loop /snap/core/10577
loop5    7:5    0  97.9M  1 loop /snap/core/10583
loop6    7:6    0  55.4M  1 loop /snap/core18/1944
loop7    7:7    0  55.4M  1 loop /snap/core18/1932
loop8    7:8    0 154.3M  1 loop /snap/figma-linux/92
loop9    7:9    0 154.3M  1 loop /snap/figma-linux/93
loop10   7:10   0 162.9M  1 loop /snap/gnome-3-28-1804/145
loop11   7:11   0 217.9M  1 loop /snap/gnome-3-34-1804/60
loop12   7:12   0   219M  1 loop /snap/gnome-3-34-1804/66
loop13   7:13   0  64.8M  1 loop /snap/gtk-common-themes/1514
loop14   7:14   0  25.5M  1 loop /snap/heroku/4010
loop15   7:15   0  25.5M  1 loop /snap/heroku/4017
loop16   7:16   0    51M  1 loop /snap/snap-store/498
loop17   7:17   0  64.4M  1 loop /snap/gtk-common-themes/1513
loop18   7:18   0    51M  1 loop /snap/snap-store/518
loop19   7:19   0  31.1M  1 loop /snap/snapd/10492
loop20   7:20   0  31.1M  1 loop /snap/snapd/10707
sda      8:0    0 931.5G  0 disk 
├─sda1   8:1    0   100M  0 part /boot/efi
├─sda2   8:2    0    16M  0 part 
├─sda3   8:3    0 343.1G  0 part 
├─sda4   8:4    0 487.8G  0 part 
├─sda5   8:5    0   505M  0 part 
├─sda6   8:6    0  46.6G  0 part /
├─sda7   8:7    0  14.2G  0 part [SWAP]
└─sda8   8:8    0  39.2G  0 part /home
sdb      8:16   1   7.5G  0 disk 
└─sdb1   8:17   1   7.5G  0 part 
sr0     11:0    1  1024M  0 rom
Shrey Tripathi
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  • @user68186 The link is really helpful, but what would happen if I use a LiveUSB of another distro, say, Arch? Can I then resize my partitions? Also, I have updated my question. Do have a look :) – Shrey Tripathi Feb 02 '21 at 14:50
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    I don't know anything about Arch. If you are comfortable with Arch you can try. However, this site is for official flavors of Ubuntu only. So questions about Arch are off topic here. – user68186 Feb 02 '21 at 15:03

1 Answers1

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If you still have your install media this is very easy, but backup any data you cannot afford to lose first:

  1. In your normal Ubuntu environment open GParted and identify your partitions. You should have a root partition, marked by a / and you may have a /home partition as well. Also you may have a small esp/EFI partition. These partitions will have a key symbol indicating they are mounted.
  2. Boot your install media but go down the Try Ubuntu route to get into a live environment
  3. Open GParted and identify your partitions again. If you don’t want Windows you can happily delete any NTFS partitions. In particular don’t touch the small esp/EFI partition. The small Microsoft reserved partition can also be deleted. Apply any changes you have made
  4. Using GParted resize and if necessary move your Linux partition(s) to use up the unallocated space. I prefer to apply changes one by one.

That should be it! If you are unsure about anything update your question and add the output of lsblk to your question.

Good Luck

PonJar
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  • Thanks for the steps! One question: I don't have an install media for Ubuntu as of now. I was wondering, will the step 3 work if I have the install media of another distro, say Arch? – Shrey Tripathi Feb 02 '21 at 14:18
  • I have edited the question with more details, and the output of lsblk. – Shrey Tripathi Feb 02 '21 at 14:46
  • The install media for Arch doesn’t have GParted and its a very different approach to installation. You can delete partitions with the command line tools it contains but I don’t recall a means of resizing. Personally I prefer Arch but I like to help others and this site gives plenty of opportunity for that. There is another way to do this https://askubuntu.com/questions/1251729/20-04-booting-iso-from-grub-menu . I’ve got this working on my systems. In principle you place the GParted live environment iso on your hard drive and add information to boot it to your grub configuration. – PonJar Feb 02 '21 at 21:57
  • This question might help https://askubuntu.com/questions/1287623/using-gparted-to-increase-my-space-in-ubuntu-without-a-live-usb/1288532#comment2187613_1288532 – PonJar Feb 02 '21 at 22:06